


One Headlight

by TiPoLover_22



Category: Trolls (2016)
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Sort of happy ending, Suicide, do not read if this will trigger you, major character deaths, mentions of depression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24653227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TiPoLover_22/pseuds/TiPoLover_22
Summary: One Headlight - The WallflowersBergen Disease was a heart disease that decided to implant itself into the kindest of people. It took them in as little as six months. But, with treatment, one could live for two more years. Treatment didn't exactly stop, it only prolonged the inevitable. The only true cure was a heart transplant. But sometimes, one couldn't get one in time.I warn you, reader. This story ends in tragedy. So turn away while you still can.
Relationships: Biggie/Guy Diamond, Chenille/DJ Suki, Queen Poppy/Branch
Comments: 14
Kudos: 14





	One Headlight

**Author's Note:**

> ONCE AGAIN!!! I AM WARNING YOU!!! There is death, there is suicide, and mentions of depression. Read at your own risk.

He was driving. The road that led to Popville had always been beautiful, but there was always one person on his mind that he thought was more beautiful. So, as he passed the sign that said, “Welcome To Popville!”, he couldn’t help but think about her. After ten years he had stopped counting. Now, he wasn’t even sure when it had happened. It was all so long ago. Yet, he remembered it clearly. Just like the first day they had met. 

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

_Branch didn’t like music or dancing anymore. On his grandma’s deathbed, she had asked him to sing her favorite song and that was the last time he had ever sang or willingly listened to music. It wasn’t something he went around telling people so he couldn’t exactly blame his aunt for dragging him to a dance she didn’t know he didn’t want to go to and chaperoning._

_It was the first school dance of the year and he had yet to actually make any friends. Not that he wanted to, anyway. He would just drag them down like he did himself. It was best to just be alone in this corner and let people ignore him._

_“Hi!”_

__

_Everything happened in slow motion. As he turned his head towards the cheery voice, time slowed to a stop. She was chubby, and looked proud of it. She had gorgeous, pink hair that was curled around her shoulders and bangs that almost covered one eye. He wanted to brush them away from her vision. Her eyes, he could see, were pink. They had to be contacts. He wanted to look into them everyday. There were freckles surrounding her big nose. He wanted to trace his finger over them like constellations in the night sky. And her smile! It shined like the sun! Brighter, even! He had never met someone so beautiful. He remembered watching a movie like this, where time stopped still when you met the love of your life. Only, what they didn’t tell you, time moved very quickly to catch up. Her lips moved like a blur and he didn’t catch a single word. He took a shaky breath. “What?”_

_Her smile didn’t falter. “I said, you’re new here aren’t you?” Her voice was like honey, sweet and soft. “I’ve seen you around these last two weeks! But you don’t really talk to anyone.”_

_“Uh, no. No I don’t.” Oh, goodness. He was at loss for words. How exactly did you talk to the most beautiful girl in the world?_

_She looked confused at his words. “I can’t really hear you. Can you speak up?”_

_His lips moved, but he had yet to actually say anything._

_The girl looked like she understood and smiled brightly again. “You’re right! This party is loud. We should go somewhere more quiet!” And then the most amazing thing happened. She grabbed his hand and dragged him out of the dance. It was a lot more quiet out here, even though there were still people. They were probably also taking a break from the dance. She still hadn’t let go of his hand. “So, new guy, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”_

_“Oh, um.” Why was this so hard? “What do you want to know?”_

_She thought about it. “Oh! Where are you from? I’ve never seen you here in Popville.”_

_“I’m from Las Vegas, actually.”_

_The girl snorted. “Ya know, I heard somewhere that people from Vegas don’t call it ‘Vegas’.” He couldn’t help but laugh along. “I’ve never actually been there. I hear it’s fun.”_

_Branch shrugged. “You’re not missing out on much. Um, there’s not much for kids to do unless you just wanna walk through the strip.”_

_She gave him a smirk that made his heart leap. “What about teens?”_

_It was his turn to think. “I guess AdventureDome is fun.”_

_“I have always wanted to go there! I hear Circus Circus actually has circus acts!”_

_He could feel his smile growing. “Yeah, actually they do. Every single day! I remember the first time I went to a show, I was so scared for the performers. I was just a kid who didn’t understand that they were professionals who knew what they were doing. My grandma and I had to leave early because I was crying. It’s so embarrassing now that I think about it.”_

_The girl laughed such a beautiful laugh. “I think it’s cute! Shows your sensitive side!” She looked around the school and smiled. “Do you have a car?”_

_“Wh-what?”_

_“Do you have a car?” She asked again, excitedly. Branch wondered what the hell was going on. Was she trying to- Her face morphed into surprise. “I-I-I want to show you somewhere! That’s why I asked! I didn’t mean to imply that- I mean, I get your from Vegas, but I don’t think you’re like that. I mean, I hope you’re not like that.” She looked down at her feet._

_“I’m not,” he assured her. “And, yes. I do have a car.” He took the keys out of his pocket and held them up. He felt some sort of victory when she smiled._

_She had directed him towards an empty road, far from the town. You could still see the lights, but faintly. “Stop on the side, right here,” she directed._

_“I could’ve used a GPS.”_

_She waved it off. “We don’t need a GPS. We’re already here.” He could hear the smirk in her voice._

_He had a smirk of his own as he turned the engine off to his van. “Where is here exactly?”_

_Something dinged and the two teens watched as a watch bloomed open with a pink glow on the girl’s wrist. She smiled brightly as she exclaimed, “Hug Time!” She brought him into a hug and he literally melted in her arms._

_When she pulled away, he felt cold. Still, he had to ask. “What is that?”_

_“It’s my Hug Time watch! Wanna see?!” She didn’t wait for an answer as she unstrapped the watch and handed it to him. The petals were made of plastic and when it was closed, it only looked like a small bud. “My friend, Mandy, is in robotics. She helped me create them for me and my friends. It goes off every hour, signaling Hug Time!” She smiled at him and he laughed._

_“That is so cheesy!”_

_“Hey! My friends and I love each other! Anyway!” She reached for the handle and opened the door. “You’re gonna love this place!” She hurried out of the car. After placing the watch in the cup holder, planning to remind her about it later, he followed suit. She held up her hands as if presenting something. “Ta da!”_

_Branch looked at the barren desert, with dead bushes and cacti and mountains. The only noticeable thing was the town’s ‘Welcome!’ sign. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already seen. He laughed and sent her a smirk. “Was this supposed to impress me.”_

_She rolled her eyes, the smile never leaving her face. “Look up, dummy!”_

_He did. And his breath hitched. Above him were miles and miles of blue and purple skies, stars and galaxies splattered across it like dots on a painting. It was a sight he had only seen in pictures. When he looked back to the girl, she was smiling smugly. “Bet they don’t have this view in Vegas!”_

_He laughed. “No, no they don’t. It’s beautiful.”_

_“I know,” she gushed. “I can’t wait to get my own car and be able to come out here myself! No more begging my friends.”_

_Branch had no idea what made him say it, but, “You can ask me anytime.”_

_She smiled at him before turning to the sky. “We should just lay down and look at them.”_

_His eyes widened. “No we should not! There are scorpions and snakes out here!”_

_“Don’t be such a scaredy cat!”_

_She started to lower her body and Branch panicked. He grabbed her hands and pulled her back up. “Wait! Um…” He looked around and his eyes landed on his van. “We can lay on the top of my van.”_

_She looked excited. “Well, let’s go!” She started pulling him towards his own van._

_They laid there for hours, talking and talking about unimportant things. Sometimes they were important. He told her his grandma had died of Bergen Disease, a heart disease that had no cure. Treatment didn’t stop it completely, it only slowed it down. With treatment, one could live at least two years longer. The only real cure was a heart transplant. His grandma wasn’t able to find a donor. So now he had been transferred here. After so many families had rejected him in Las Vegas, they had tried finding any living family. Turns out he had an aunt he never knew about. He had only been here for a month, so he wasn’t sure if they were right or not. She told him that she bet his grandma was a very nice woman and he told her that she was. It was almost 2 am when he noticed the time._

_“I think we should head home. My aunt probably worried about me.”_

_The girl shook her head. “People here are pretty chill. And it’s a pretty small town. Nothing ever happens here.”_

_“Isn’t it a school night?”_

_She groaned. “You’re a buzzkill! But,” she sat up. “If you’re so worried, let’s head home then.” She smiled at him, showing she was ok with this decision._

_They got in the car and when Branch started the engine, he noticed the lights seemed dim on one side. “Ugh, not again.”_

_The girl seemed worried. “What happened?”_

_“One of my headlights had faulty wiring. It goes off every now and then.”_

_“You should get that fixed,” she teased._

_Branch waved it off. “It’ll be fine.”_

_The girl laughed. “You do not want to be caught driving with only one headlight.”_

_“It’s fine. Besides, it’s a pretty chill town, right? Now, let’s get you home.” He took out his phone, opening up maps. “What’s your address?”_

_“I’ll tell you where to go.”_

_“I can’t just put it in the GPS?”_

_“Nope! I know these roads like the back of my hand.”_

_And she did. They had gotten to her house easily. “It was nice meeting you,” she sent him a sweet smile. “I’ll see you at school in the morning.”_

_“Yeah, I’ll see you too.” She closed the door and headed towards her house. He didn’t leave until she was safely inside. Finally, he was able to use his GPS. He got home just as it turned two. He almost jumped when he heard a ding and light shone in his cupholder. Her Hug Time watch. She had forgotten it. He smiled as he lifted it. It was definite that he would be seeing her again now. He just had to ask around if anyone knew a…_

_Wait a minute? What was her name? She had to have given her name! Oh, god! He didn’t know her name! He took a deep breath. “It’s fine, it’s fine,” he whispered to himself. He’ll just have to ask her when he saw her again._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_That morning at school, he wandered the halls before classes, scanning them for anything pink. Most kids stayed out of his way. As an outsider and an introvert, a lot of people seemed afraid of him. The fact that he wore a scowl didn’t help him. The bell would be ringing in ten minutes and he still had yet to find her. She said she saw him around. Did they have any classes together? He would remember someone like her in his classes. Not that he paid any attention to the people in his classes. Maybe he should if he was ever going to find-_

_Her. There she was! Her hair was still curled at her shoulders and her smile was still so bright! His legs started moving faster. He took the watch out of his pocket as he made it near her. He could feel his smile growing wider as he got closer. It vanished when he noticed the people standing next to her. They all looked so colorful and happy together. Like they had known each other their whole lives. Looking at their wrists, she wasn’t kidding. He saw the same kind of watch around all their wrists, just different colors._

_He felt so stupid. How could he ever expect to fit in with that? They were all probably happy and never had to worry about anything. Nothing good would come of being with her. Or even being her friend. He would just drag her down with him._

_His feet stopped only a few feet away from her. They all stopped laughing at whatever they had been watching on some big guy’s phone when every watch dinged, a few milliseconds off sync. The one in Branch’s hand went off last, and they all turned to him. When the girl saw him, her smile was so wide it made his heart ache. “Branch! Oh, my gah!” Her friends looked very confused. “You know it’s funny, we had such a great time together, but I never really introduced myself! My name’s Poppy, by the way.”_

_Gah, even her name was beautiful! “You know my name?” Why did his heart surge at the thought?_

_“Who doesn’t?! You’re new here. Not many people move to Popville. And you have my Hug Time watch! I thought I lost it! I was looking everywhere for it!”_

_Branch handed it to her. To Poppy. “You, um, left it in my van last night.”_

_“Poppy, please tell me you did not sleep with this guy.”_

_The two teens turned to another teen with teal hair._

_“Creek, oh my gah!”_

_While Poppy looked aghast, Branch was filled with anger. Who the hell was this guy? “Why the hell do you care? Are you her boyfriend?”_

_This ‘Creek’ fellow seemed like he had never had to argue with someone for he looked surprised at Branch’s backlash. “N-no, but-”_

_“Then what does it matter to you?!” He turned back to Poppy. “Look, I just came to give you your stupid watch back.”_

_“Hey,” all her friends yelled in defense._

_He turned away from them. A friendship, or anything more, with her would only crash and burn. “You and your friends can feel free to never talk to me again!”_

_He had expected those to be his last words to her. Unfortunately, he found that she was as every bit of stubborn as he was. It was lunch time when she loudly announced that he could come sit with them! And, oh the glare he had on his face scared everyone in the room. But not her. She smiled at him. And, honestly, how could he deny her anything. He sighed. “Let’s go.” His words echoed in the silent cafeteria._

_She looked surprised. “What?”_

_“I’m having lunch with you. Not with them.” Though her friends looked angry and upset, he really didn’t care. Just for today. He was promising himself only today. After that, he had to let her go._

_Poppy looked conflicted though. He watched as she had a silent conversation with her friends. She smiled at them. It wasn’t one of the bright smiles he had seen. But when she reached for her bag and lifted her tray, he knew what the smile meant. As she walked over to him, he felt all eyes on them. Her smug smile was back. “Lead the way.”_

_He led her to the far side of the school. There weren’t any benches, so no one really hung out there. They sat and ate there for the hour. When Poppy suggested they play twenty questions, he agreed. It was only when the bell rang did they notice the crowd they had brought. Branch got up, offering her a hand. “Don’t expect this to happen again.” he warned her._

_“And why is that,” she asked, sweetly, as she took his hand._

_He hoisted her up. “Cause I’m not looking to make friends.”_

_Poppy shrugged. “I think you’re too late for that. We’re already friends. We’re already bestest friends.” She smiled, smug, at his glaring face, not letting go of his hand._

_“...You should get to class.”_

_“I should.” They stayed like that until the late bell rang and they knew they seriously had to get to class._

_As he walked to class, he couldn’t help but think how amazing Poppy was. It was official. If he wanted the sun to keep shining, he had to run away from it._

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

And, oh, Branch had tried. He really did. But she had proven very quickly to be someone he couldn’t stay away from. She was too amazing and he was pulled to her like a moth to a flame. No matter what harsh words he threw at her, how long he ignored her, how many times he rejected her friendship, she was always looking at the bright side. Poppy had always believed the world was cupcakes and rainbows. Even when she received the most horrible news. 

He pulled up to the old, beat up diner she and her friends liked to go to. Branch never understood why she went there. She was like a ray of sunshine while this place was crawling with grey clouds. As he looked in the diner, he found people already sitting in his usual booth. 

He got out of his car and entered it anyway. It’s not like one person could take up an entire booth. He sat at the bar. Waiting to be served. The group that was sitting at the table was finally getting ready to leave. It would be empty soon. But Branch wasn’t sure he would be able to stomach sitting there. That booth held his most horrible, heartbreaking memory. 

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

_Branch sighed loudly as he entered the diner. “Why are they here,” he asked, gesturing to her friends._

_“Why is he here,” her friends asked out of sync._

_“Because I need to tell you guys something important,” Poppy explained. “Please sit down, I saved a spot for you.” The spot was right next to her and, honestly, how could he say no. He sat down and noticed Poppy wasn’t smiling like usual. This smile was too wide, too forced. “So, I know you guys have noticed that I’ve started losing weight.”_

_“Oh, yeah,” they all exclaimed happily._

_“If it’s what you really want,” Chenille started._

_“Then we’re happy for you,” Satin, her twin, finished the sentence._

_Branch didn’t say anything. He felt like there was more she had to say. She kept her smile on her face. “And I’ve been pretty tired lately. I’ve had to skip school a lot.”_

_Biggie looked worried. “Poppy? Are you not eating right?”_

_“No!” Everyone’s eyes widened. “I mean! Yes, I’m eating right, but that’s not the reason all this is happening to me. Look, guys. I’m gonna finish the school year with you guys, but I’m going to be homeschooled for Senior.”_

_Branch’s eyebrows furrowed. “What’s wrong with you?”_

_“I’m gonna be on bedrest a lot,” she ignored his question. “The doctors say I shouldn’t do too much to elevate my heart rate, so I can’t go to school or parties. And I can’t stress myself out too much, so they say homeschool will be good for me since I’ll do everything at my own pace-”_

_“What’s going on,” he interrupted, doing exactly what everyone else wanted, but was afraid to do._

_“But, you’ll all still be able to visit me at home! Except for days where I’ll be at the hospital. I’m going to be fine, guys! I’m totally sure-”_

_“What’s wrong with you?!” He slammed both hands on the table, glaring at her._

_Everyone now saw how fake her smile was. “During last summer, I got a check up before the school year started. The doctors said there was something off about my heartbeat. And so I got checked for that.” Branch couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This couldn’t be happening. “I was diagnosed with Bergen Disease.”_

_The Snack Pack gasped. “Poppy,” her name slipped through Creek’s lips like a river of grief. He reached for her hand and she took it._

_Poppy’s words rang in Branch’s head like a bell. Bergen Disease. The same disease that took his grandma. And now it was going to take Poppy. Her next words broke him out of his trance._

_“But I’m going to be fine, guys! I’ll push through this! I am a King!” She smiled brightly._

_“You are a King,” her friends cheered back._

_Branch couldn’t believe this. He looked at her, astonished. “Are you stupid?”_

_She turned to him, confused and sad. “What?”_

_“Are you stupid,” he said, more profound. “Are you all stupid?! You’ll push through this?! How naive are you?!”_ _  
_ _“Hey, calm down, mate,” Creek seethed._

_“I will not calm down,” Branch roared back, causing all eyes to be on their table. “And don’t call me mate! I’m not your mate! You’re all being incredibly naive and stupid! This isn’t a cold you can push through! This is a serious disease with serious consequences, Poppy! There is no cure! You are going to die! Your little cupcakes and rainbows don’t apply here! Bad things happen, and there’s nothing you can do about it!”_

_“I know it’s not all cupcakes and rainbows, Branch! But I would rather go through life believing that it mostly is than being like you!”_

_“Like me?!”_

_“Yeah! Why can’t you just look at the bright side?! It wouldn’t kill you!”_

_“No, but it could kill you!” They both glared at each other for a few seconds. Branch was the first to look away, only to scoot out of the booth and storm out of the diner._

_Poppy watched through the window as Branch started his van. He always had his headlights on, even in the daylight in case he forgot to turn it on. She could see that only one was working. She laughed nervously. “He should really fix that broken headlight.”_

_Slowly, noise started to come back to the diner._

_Creek scoffed. “I hate him. What he said to you, he had no right saying! You are going to make it through this, Poppy! We believe in you!”_

_“Yeah,” Suki agreed, nodding with Chenille. “You’re going to be fine!”_

_“You’ll get a donor in no time,” Smidge assured._

_“Yeah,” Cooper agreed._

_Guy took her hand in his. “Everything is going to be ok.”_

_She smiled at everyone. “Thanks guys.”_

_“Branch was overreacting,” Creek commented with a hint of disdain._

_Poppy shrugged. “I think he reacted how I thought he would.”_

_“You thought he would scream at you and call you stupid.” Satin asked._

_“Well, no, not that. But I knew he would be upset. Bergen Disease is a touchy subject for him.”_

_‘How’, Fuzzbert signed._

_“His grandma died from it. He told me that the night we met.”_

_Everyone stayed silent as Creek sputtered. “Th-that’s no excuse to act the way he did!’_

_Poppy shrugged. “No, I guess it’s not.”_

_They all talked for a while after that. About school, music, dancing, cupcakes, rainbows. Anything to take their mind off of the ticking-time bomb in their friend’s heart. One by one, they all left._

_Creek was the last one to leave. “Do you need a ride home,” he asked, hesitant to leave her._

_Poppy shook her head. “No. I actually want to stay here for a bit longer. I want to be out and about before it all ends.”_

_Creek nodded. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow.” Against his intuition, he left her._

_Poppy was happy to be alone now. It’s not like she didn’t know it was coming. Treatment only did so much. And even if she had a donor already, she’d only get, like, ten extra years. But she was hopeful. Even if it meant she could never dance her heart out, or sing as loud as she could, she would at least have all those extra years. All that precious time she could treasure. She just had to stay hopeful. She looked up as someone sat across from her. “Branch?”_

_He couldn’t look her in the eye. He felt like such an idiot, yelling at her like that. It’s not like she asked to have Bergen Disease. Bergen Disease was a horrible entity that targeted those who didn’t deserve it. “I’m sorry. For yelling at you.”_

_“It’s ok,” she forgave, easily._

_“But, it’s not, though.” He finally looked at her, astonished at how easily it was for her to forgive. That’s when he saw the tears running down her cheeks. “Oh, my gah! You’re crying!” He was by her side in a second._

_“I am?” Poppy felt her cheeks. They were wet. “I didn’t even not-” Her breath hitched when a napkin tenderly touched her cheek. She looked up at him, surprised. His face was so close._

_Branch wiped her tears away before he noticed how close their faces were. They both looked away quickly, their faces flaming._

_Poppy needed to calm down. She couldn’t stress her heart out like that._

_“You were crying.”_

_“Yeah, I guess I am a little worried. But there’s a difference between me and others who worry.”_

_“And what is that?”_

_“I have hope. And that’s all I need. Because I am a King.”_

_Branch chuckled. “Because you’re a King.”_

_“Because I am a King,” she cheered._

_“Because you are a King,” Branch cheered with her. Branch smiled at her and he felt his entire body wash over with warmth when she smiled back._

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

“What can I get for you, Sir?” 

Branch’s head snapped away from the booth and back to the bar. He noticed a familiar face. “Ginger?” The woman asking for his order was actually named Grace. But, in school, everyone had called her ‘Ginger’, because she made the best Gingerbread cookies. 

Ginger looked surprised to see him. “Branch?” 

“I didn’t know you worked here.”

She shrugged. “It’s a family business.”

“I didn’t know that either.” He remembered something. “Didn’t you want to be a vet, though?”

Ginger tilted her head. “You know that?” 

“...Poppy told me.” He could literally see the mask Ginger put on to hide her unease.

She nodded. “Speaking of Poppy, she’s the reason I’m here. I am a vet, actually. In Carson City.”

“That’s a big city.” 

She smirked. “Coming from a Vegas baby? Really?” 

He rolled his eyes half heartedly.

“Anyway, I took the week off to visit my family and now they have me helping out here. And, you know, I wanted to be here today. It’s the anniversary of her death, you know.”

He nodded. “I know.” 

They were both silent for a second. “You knew about the transplant.”

“I did.”

“...You could’ve come to her service, ya know. Everyone was wondering where you were. Everyone was waiting for _your_ eulogy.”

That stung. That really stung. “Look, Ginger. I came here for a reason.” He took an envelope out of his pocket. “I guess, since this is a family business, I can trust you to give this to whoever’s in charge.” 

Ginger reached for it. “What is it?”

Branch pulled it back to his person before she could touch it. She looked at him, expectantly. “Before I give this to you, can I ask you something?”

Ginger was curious now. “What is it?”

“Why did Poppy hang around this place?” His eyes widened. “I mean! Not that this place isn’t great, it’s just-”

“All the weirdos hang out here and it’s in the bad part of town?” She raised a brow at him, a smirk on her lips. 

“This just doesn't look like the kind of place you would see a girl like Poppy.” 

“Well, everyone who came here loved seeing Poppy. She bought meals for those who couldn’t. Her dad being the mayor of this place meant she had money. And she used it here.” Ginger looked around at her family’s restaurant. “Took care of the places her dad wouldn’t.” She looked back to the old recluse. “Did that answer your question?”

Branch nodded. “Yeah, it really did.” He smiled as he handed the envelope to her. 

Ginger saw that it was open and took out the paper that was inside. It was a check. For a whole lot of money. Her heart started to quicken. “Branch what is this?”

“Your family can do whatever you want with that. You can fix this place up. Help feed those who come in here. Whatever you want.”

She looked at the check. And then back at Branch. “Wh-why-”

Branch laughed. “I’m not gonna need it where I’m going.”

Ginger froze. He couldn’t be thinking- No! It’s been years! He wouldn’t. But as she looked at him, his easy smile and loose shoulders, she felt that it was probably true. She shook off her worry and smiled at him. “You know, Branch, you look a lot more at peace than when we were teens.”

Branch nodded. Ever since his decision, all of his worries had slipped away. “I am at peace. I have never been so at peace before.” Well, only once. But that had been so long ago. And so much had happened since that beautiful night on that open road, staring at the stars with the love of his life. 

Ginger nodded, her worry increasing. Everyone knew Branch had been depressed. Every teenager was moody, but Branch was different. He thought he hid it well. But this was a small town that noticed everything. Everyone knew each other. And no one had forgotten the livestream. It had been 22 years since her death. Since Branch left this town without looking back. She saw his books in bookstores, knew people who went to his signings, read about his interviews for his stories. This small town was like that. Loved hearing about the accomplishments of those who left it behind. She had never read any of his stories. Just one. And it had erased any thought that he could ever be happy without her. “Where exactly are you going?” He looked surprised at her question.

Branch couldn’t exactly tell her the truth. But when he thought about where he was going, he felt happy. He smiled at her. “Somewhere where I can be happy, I guess.” He took out his wallet and took out all the cash he had in it. He slid it towards her. “Thanks for the answer, Ginger.” He left the restaurant for the last time.

His next stop was her house. It was a gorgeous two story with three rooms. It had brown roof tiles and the whole thing was a blinding, bright yellow. Her room had been above the garage, noticeable with her pink window panes. He remembered the countless times he came to visit her there. Her friends were always with her ever since she told them about being diagnosed with Bergen Disease. They stopped minding him after a while, though they all still had their own little tiffs with him. Especially Creek. 

And, even though Branch hated to admit it, Creek helped him a lot when it came to Poppy. Like on the last Independence Day before her death.

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

_“I just want to do something!”_

_Branch sighed. “Your dad already said you can’t go tomorrow.”_

_“My dad is evil,” Poppy yelled, throwing herself on her bed. She sat up and gasped. “I take that back! I love my dad!”_

_Branch rolled his eyes as he continued writing on his laptop._

_“What are you even writing,” Satin asked as she and Chenille painted each other’s nails._

_“Things.”_

_“Oh, wow,” Creek’s voice leaked with sarcasm. “Things. So interesting.”_

_Poppy watched as he rolled his eyes. “Are you finally writing that story about that lost princess.”_

_“No!”_

_“Oooh, lost princess,” Biggie asked while combing his feret’s fur._

_“That sounds cool,” Cooper added._

_“That’s not what I’m writing!”_

_“What’s the plot,” Suki asked._

_“Is she a damsel in distress,” Smidge started asking too._

_“He calls it The Princess Knight-,” Poppy started to explain before Branch started shushing her._

_“That is no one’s business but mine!” He slammed his laptop shut. He knew these guys. They would now try to sneak a peek at what he was writing. Now he couldn’t write. Great!_

_Poppy rolled her eyes and mocked him with her hand. She only smiled when he glared at her. “Did you only call us here so you could complain?”_

_“Yes,” she looked him straight in the eye. Then she sighed dramatically and she flopped herself back on her bed. “I am so bored in this house.”_

_“Then let’s just leave it.”_

_Everyone turned to Creek, surprised he would start this argument. They all knew what was coming and turned to Branch in preparation. Just as they all suspected, Branch was already glaring something fierce._

_“She can’t just leave it! It’s the doctor's orders! She has to stay in bed!”_

_“For what?! To stay alive?! This isn’t living, Branch!”_

_“She’ll die sooner stressing her heart out!”_

_“Can you two calm down,” Poppy tried to intervene._

_“She’ll be fine! You’re always so fucking negative!”_

_“You mean realistic?! Because I’m the only who seems to know what’s at stake here! She is dying! And you all are trying to speed up the process!”_

_“Branch!” Poppy looked at him, astonished. He still thought she wouldn’t get a donor in time?_

_Branch glared at her for a few seconds before hastily shoving his laptop in his bag. “You know what, Poppy?” He got up and slipped his bag strap over his shoulder. “If you wanna die sooner for some fucking fireworks, go ahead.” He stormed out her bedroom door._

_Poppy stood there, quiet for a second. Her head snapped towards Creek at his next words. “That fucking asshole!” He got up and ran out the door._

_“Where are you going?! Creek?!”_

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Branch slammed the house door behind him and headed for his van. He heard it open and turned to see who followed him out, only to roll his eyes and make his way to his van again._

_“Hey, dickface,” Creek called. “Wanna explain to me why making Poppy feel bad about this gives you such a thrill?!”_

_Branch ignored him. He opened his van door only for Creek to immediately shut it. “What the hell?!”_ _  
_ _“Answer me!” Branch rolled his eyes. “What the actual fuck is wrong with you? You don’t think she already feels like shit?!”_

_“Well, if she did, she’d be taking it seriously!”_

_“She’s just a teenager, Branch! We all are! We’re all just trying to live our lives! Why is she any different?!”_ _  
_ _“Because she’s dying!”_

_“Then act like it,” he screeched. “If you honestly do think she’s dying, then act like it! What kind of person treats someone who's dying like shit?! Huh?!”_

_Branch didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to admit Creek was right. Because he wasn’t! Branch was being rational about this. He was being realistic. And the real facts were that stressing your heart out with Bergen Disease caused you to die faster. But...it wasn’t like Poppy asked for this to happen to her. It wasn’t like she asked for her teen years to be stripped away from her. For her life to be put on hold while she waited for a donor that might never come._

_He looked up past Creek and at the window to see a bunch of faces duck down and out of view. Those nosy fuckers. He glared at Creek. “Fuck you, Creek.” He opened his door and this time that hippie didn’t stop him._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Creek stormed back to the room. “I’m so sorry, Poppy,” he apologized before he was even fully in the room. “I tried to talk to him, I really did.”_

_Poppy shrugged. “It’s ok, Creek. He’s just worried.”_

_“People don’t treat the ones they’re worried for like crap,” he reasoned as he sat next to her. “You know what?! Just tune out his negative vibrations, Poppy! They’re toxic. Some folks just don’t want to be happy.”_

_Poppy shrugged again. “I guess.”_

_“You guessed right,” he smiled. “Boop,” he tapped her nose with his finger, causing Poppy to laugh. He knew she loved when he did that._

_Poppy’s smile faltered a little bit. “I think Branch is right, though.”_

_“What,” they all asked in sync._

_“I shouldn’t be stressing my heart out too much. Plus, my dad already said I couldn’t go.”_

_“But, you want to go,” Guy reasoned._

_Fuzzbert clapped, bringing attention to themselves. ‘You don’t have to participate in the dancing or singing,’ they tried to reason._

_Poppy shook her head. “But I’m going to want to. And you guys know me.”_

_Biggie sighed. “We do.”_

_“We really do,” Suki nodded._

_“So you’re not going then,” Creek asked. She shook her head. Creek really hated the power Branch had over her._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_And, honestly, Branch did too. He was always making her feel bad. Why? Why couldn’t he just be nice? She just wanted to see a stupid firwork show! Why couldn’t she?! Why did she have to get Bergen Disease?! It really wasn’t fair. As he entered his room, his eyes landed on the Tapestry of Las Vegas his aunt had given him for Christmas. A light bulb went off in his head._

_Suddenly, a plan started forming in his head. Soon, the entire day was planned. His smile was so wide as he thought about how much fun Poppy was going to have._

_“Branch! I bought In-N-Out for dinner!”_

_His smile faltered as the sound of his aunt’s voice. That’s right. They had to approve of his plan. He walked into the kitchen, a fake smile on his face. “Hey, Delta! Your hair looks great today!” Complimenting her red curls was a sure way to get her in a good mood. But she only looked at him suspiciously as she took the burgers out of the bag._

_“Whatta ya up to, boy?” She put her hands on her hips._

_He should’ve been more subtle. “Um, ok. I think I’ll just get straight to the point.”_

_“You best get to that point then, child.”_

_He took a deep breath. “I was wondering if I can take a trip to Las Vegas.”_

_“Las Vegas?! That’s a seven hour drive from here!”_

_“It’s for a good cause,” he reasoned._

_“Mmhm. What’s the cause?”_

_“...I want to take Poppy to see the firework shows.”_

_“Hm. I’d say that’s a good cause.” She started taking the fries out._

_He could feel a smile growing on his face. “Really?”_

_“Sure. As long as you have permission and that headlight of yours is fixed.”_

_Branch groaned. He didn’t have either of those. Delta didn’t need to know about the former, though. “We’ll only be driving during the day!”_

_“Branch, as the Chief of Police’s nephew, no one stops you here. So, if you’re leaving town, I would feel a lot more calm knowing those headlights worked.” Branch only groaned again. She rolled her eyes before an excellent idea came. “How about you ask Hickory to fix it for you?”_

_Ugh. That guy. Branch didn’t like him at all. He was always trying to be some father figure to him, but Branch didn’t need a dad anymore. He was seventeen! If Delta thought this was some great plan to get him to like her husband, she was wrong._

_“You can only go if those headlights are fixed.”_

_Gah! It’s like she could read his mind! He sighed, accepting defeat. ‘For Poppy,’ he reminded himself. “Fine,” he grumbled. “I’ll ask Hickory.”_

_“Ask me what,” said a Swiss accent. A man walked into the kitchen with oil stains on his blue jumpsuit and hands. He walked over and gave Delta a kiss before washing his hands in the sink._

_“Honey, Branch has something to ask you.”_

_Branch felt so on the spot right now as Hickory turned to him, expectantly. “What is it, Branch?”_

_He looked to Delta, who egged him on. He turned back to Hickory. “Can you help me fix the headlights to my van.”_

_Hickory laughed. “Of course I can! We’ll do it right after dinner.”_

_True to his word, Hickory did help him fix the wiring. Well, more like Hickory did all the work and told his life story while Branch listened. Branch found out he had come from Switzerland with his brother because of a George Strait concert. Hickory had grown up yodeling, and still loved it, but when he got his hands on some Country music, he couldn’t stop himself from loving it. He ended up staying here in Popville after hearing Delta sing. His brother wasn’t happy about it, but supported him anyway. They sent each other letters every month._

_Soon enough, both headlights were working. Hickory warned him, though, to get it professionally fixed as soon as possible._

_Branch had gone to the closest convenience store after that, testing out the light and getting snacks for the trip. He got all of Poppy’s favorites. She was going to be so excited._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Poppy heard a tapping at her window. What kind of bird does that? She got up, groggily. Birds don’t tap on your window. She looked at her clock to see it was only 12 past eight. What the heck was tapping at her window?! She scooted towards it and moved the curtain. She blinked. “Branch?!” Quickly, she opened the window. “What are you doing here?!”_

_He shushed her, putting a finger to his lips. Then he pointed at her drawer. “Get ready. We’re going somewhere.”_

_“Where,” she asked._

_“It’s a surprise.”_

_“How did you even get up here?”_

_“I used my van, now get ready!”_

_“Ok, ok!” She went to her drawer._

_“Make sure it’s something comfortable.”_

_Poppy slipped one some light blue bell bottoms and a tie dye T. She put on her favorite sneakers and opened the curtain. Branch was still sitting on the roof of the garage. “I’m ready.”_

_He turned to her. “You have your wallet? And a jacket?” She blinked. “And your phone?”_

_“Just one second!” She rushed back, grabbed a pink hoodie, her bag, and her phone. She went back to the curtain. “Ok, now I’m ready. I’ll meet you downstairs!”_

_“Just come out through the window.”_

_“What?!”_

_Branch shushed her once more. “Your dad...doesn’t exactly know about this.” She gaped at him. “Just come out through the window!” He started sliding off her tiles and landed on his van. Then he turned towards her and held his hands out. “I’ll catch you.”_

_Poppy didn’t need to be told twice. With a huge smile, she exited through her window, closed it as much as she could, and jumped into Branch’s arms. He caught her, just like he promised. They both couldn’t help but smile at each other._

_“What’s going on here?!” They screamed in unison, holding on to each other. After a few seconds, they looked down to find a very angry Mayor. “Get down from there! Both of you,” he ordered. The two teens did so. “Do you wanna tell me what’s going on here?”_

_Branch gulped. He had not wanted Peppy to find out about this. But now he had. Whatever happened next, Branch was still taking Poppy on this trip._

_Poppy shared a glance with Branch. She really wanted to go to this mystery place. She hated staying inside all of the time just because of this stupid disease! It wasn’t fair. But as she looked into Branch’s eyes, eyes full of determination, a spark of hope bloomed inside her._

_Branch turned to Peppy, ready to do whatever it took. “Mayor Peppy. I am taking your daughter on a much needed trip. We’re going to enter this van, which is safe and insured, and we’re going to have fun. I promise not to let anything happen to her. She is completely safe with me. We’ll be back tomorrow night.” His heart was racing. If Peppy said no, then this was all for nothing._

_Peppy turned to his daughter. “Poppy, your heart-”_

_“I know,” she interrupted. “But...I don’t want to spend what could be my last days cooped inside the house, dad! I wanna do things! Whether you say yes or no, I’m going! It’s my life! I want to live it the way I want to! And I don’t want this stupid disease getting in the way!” She took deep breaths to calm her heart down. Branch put a hand on her shoulder, worried._

_“Branch.”_

_Branch turned to Peppy, who was staring him down. “Sir?”_

_Slowly, Peppy took something out of his back pocket. It was his wallet. He took out a wad of cash, grabbed Branch’s hand, and placed it on his palm. “Bring her back safely.”_

_Branch nodded. “I will.” No sooner than he got the words out, Poppy threw her arms around her dad._

_“Thank you,” she hugged her dad tightly. When she let go, they shared a smile. She turned back to Branch with a huge smile, which he returned, before running to the passenger side._

_Branch watched her, excited. He couldn’t believe Peppy had agreed! He turned to the elder man. “I promise I’ll bring her back safely.” Peppy only nodded and Branch saw that as his queue. He got in his van and turned on the engine._

_“Where are we going,” Poppy asked, excited._

_Branch smirked as he started driving onto the road. “Oh, you know. Just a little city called… Las Vegas-”_

_“Las Vegas,” she screeched, her smile so wide it hurt._

_Branch jumped at her yell. “Calm down!” He took a glance at her. “And put your seatbelt on!”_

_“Ok, ok,” she did so. “How long is it gonna take to get there?”_

_“About seven hours.”_

_“Seven hours?!”_

_“Snacks are in the back.”_

_“Snacks?!” She turned in her seat to see a bag full of her favorite snacks. Gah, this trip was going to be fun!_

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

Branch’s head snapped towards the door as it opened. Three people came out, one dressed in a suit. One by one they all noticed him. 

The one in the suit, he assumed was the realtor, stepped forward. “Hello! Are you here to check out the house.”

Branch smiled at her. “No. Um. An old friend of mine used to live here. I was just checking up on it.” He looked at the house. “It’s still in good shape. Looks just how I remembered it.” He turned to the presumed couple. “You’ll like this house, it’s great.” Without another word, he headed back to his van. 

On the way to his next destination, he couldn’t help but think of that Las Vegas trip. That was the day he finally stopped trying to push her away.

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

_Three hours into the trip, Branch was not happy. Well, he was, he was just annoyed. Why, you ask? Because Poppy had woken up from her nap twenty minutes ago and had started livestreaming since._

_“Branch, say hi!”_

_“Do you have to livestream?!”_

_“Yes! I always livestream when I’m in a good mood!”_

_“Do you have to be in a good mood?”_

_“Just say hi,” she groaned, pointing the phone at him._

_“Poppy, get that camera out of my face! I’m driving!”_

_“Ok, yeesh!” Poppy put her phone on a mount right next to her, continuing the live stream. “Can we at least listen to music?”_

_He sighed. “Sure.” She grabbed his phone. “Why my phone?!”_

_“Mine is still live streaming!”_

_“Ugh!”_

_“What’s your password?”_

_He wanted to glare at her. “Like you don’t already know.”_

_“True.” She unlocked his phone and went to his music app. There were three playlists. K, I, and L, each one containing almost 300 songs. She opened K and saw a bunch of her favorites. She put on Girls Just Wanna Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper. “Does it connect to bluetooth?”_

_He snorted. “You’re lucky I even have an aux cord.”_

_“You should get rid of this van and get something new,” she scolded as she plugged the phone in. A beautiful melody started playing and she waited to start singing along. When she did, she noticed something. She was the only one singing. She stopped, realizing only music was playing, with a few background vocals. “Branch, where are the lyrics?”_

_Branch glanced down at his phone before looking back at the phone. “Which playlist did you put on?”_

_“K.”_

_“You have to put on L.”_

_She opened L only to find all of the same songs. “Branch, these are all the same songs.”_

_“Those are the ones that have lyrics.”_

_“L for lyrics. What’s K for then?”_

_“Instrumental,” he answered a little too quickly._

_“Wouldn’t that be I?” Realization hit her. “K stands for karaoke! Branch, you know all of these songs?!”_

_“No!”_

_“Yes you do! Oh my gah! Can you sing something for me?!”_

_“No!”_

_“Pretty please?! With cherries on top?!”_

_“I don’t care if you add hot fudge, I’m still not singing.”_

_“Please! For me?!”_

_He took a glance at her. And when he saw her blinking those pretty little eyelashes at him, he thought how could he possibly deny her anything. He sighed. The shit she got him to do. “Fine! Pick a song.”_

_“Yay!” She looked through the playlist. “Oh! What about Total Eclipse Of the Heart?”_

_“Anything but that one!”_

_“But-”_

_“Put on track 107!”_

_“Ok, ok.” Geez, what was his problem? “One, O, seven,” Poppy said, slowly, scrolling down the playlist. She clicked the track before she could even read the name. A sweet guitar was already playing to the tune of Give me One Reason by Tracy Chapman. It took a few seconds for Branch to start singing. But when he did, Poppy almost swooned. His voice was beautiful! She screamed when he finished._

_“What?! What?!”_

_“Your voice! Your voice! Oh my gah! It’s beautiful, Branch!”_

_He chuckled. There was no danger, she was just excited. “Thank you. You know, I was a musical prodigy before I moved to Popville.”_

_“Really?”_

_“Yeah. I loved to sing. I was at the top of my choir classes. I could play the violin and the Cello. Guitar was always easy for me. And my dance moves weren’t too bad.” He smiled as he thought about his old life._

_“What changed?”_

_His smile dropped. “You remember the night we met? When I told you about my grandma?”_

_“...Yeah, I do.” Just then, a tune she recognized as The Beatles’ ‘Yesterday’ started playing._

_“Well, the day she died, she asked me to sing her favorite song.”_

_“Which song was it?”_

_“...Total Eclipse Of the Heart.”_

_“Oh.”_

_“I hate that song. I can’t bring myself to listen to it. Ever. After my grandma died, singing just wasn’t the same. This was the first time in two years that I’ve sung. Glad to know I still got it.”_

_Poppy felt horrible now. “I’m sorry I made you sing.”_

_“It’s ok,” he assured, a small smile growing. “I wouldn’t have sang if I didn’t want to.”_

_They stayed quiet for a while as tunes of different songs went on playing. Poppy wondered what he could be thinking. She didn’t have to wonder any longer._

_“You know, I’m happy to be your friend.”_

_She was surprised. “You are?!”_

_He nodded. “The day my grandma was diagnosed with Bergen Disease, she started preparing everything for the day I would have to live without her. It was like she knew she would never get a donor and so she had to prepare me to live a life where she wasn’t going to be in it. But you? With you, I just can’t explain it. You sit there and you just...smile! You look straight into the eyes of your demons and you smile. You do everything you can to make sure your life is still all cupcakes and rainbows. It’s refreshing. Being around someone who has hope.”_

_Poppy’s head fell. “I’m actually starting to lose it.”_

_“...What?”_

_“Hope. I’m starting to lose it.”_

_“...Why?”_

_“It’s been almost a year, Branch. I’m still behind over 80 people. I don’t think I’ll be getting a donor any time soon.” She turned away from him, choosing to stare at the desert out the window. “There are days where I’m glad you guys don’t come over because I can just cry. You know? Like, why did this happen to me? Why is it happening to anyone? Why can’t there just be a cure already? Why do people have to die?”_

_Branch didn’t know what to say. “Death is...a natural part of life.”_

_“That’s very comforting, Branch, thanks so much.” Sarcasm. That was sarcasm. Poppy was never sarcastic, believing it was mean, and often punched his arm when he would use it. If Poppy was being sarcastic, it really did mean she was losing hope. “I sometimes think you’re right. The world isn’t all cupcakes and rainbows.”_

_He had never felt more angry at himself than he did now. This was his fault. All these weeks, putting it in her head that she was dying and that there was no hope. He didn’t know how to fix this. A familiar guitar started playing on the speakers. He hoped this worked._

You with the sad eyes

Don't be discouraged, oh I realize

It's hard to take courage

_Poppy furrowed her brows. What was he doing?_

In a world full of people

You can lose sight of it all

The darkness inside you

Can make you feel so small

_Branch chanced a glance at her. She only looked confused._

Show me a smile then

Don't be unhappy

Can't remember when

I last saw you laughing

_He looked to see that he was alone on the road before intentionally swerving._

This world makes you crazy

And you've taken all you can bear

_“Branch, stop that!” Was he crazy?!_

Just call me up

'Cause I will always be there

When he glanced at her now, she was smiling a bit.

And I see your true colors

Shining through

_Poppy started laughing. What was he doing?!_

I see your true colors

And that's why I love you

_Her eyes widened. Did he really just…? She smiled before she started singing along._

So don't be afraid to let them show

_Branch started singing once again, their voices in sync._

Your true colors

True colors are beautiful

I see your true colors

Shining through (true colors)

I see your true colors

And that's why I love you

So don't be afraid to let them show

Your true colors

True colors are beautiful (they're beautiful)

Like a rainbow

Oh oh oh oh oh like a rainbow

_They both stopped singing at the same time, their smiles too wide to form any words. They let the music end before speaking again._

_“If you hadn’t known that song, this would have been completely awkward.”_

_“Or it would have been incredibly sweet when I heard the lyrics.” She looked ahead at the open road ahead of them. “Branch.” He hummed in reply. “I’m happy I’m your friend.” She didn’t have to look at him to know he was smiling._

_“Do you want to put on some of your own music?”_

_Poppy glanced at her phone before doing a double take. Her phone! Her phone that was livestreaming this entire time! She snatched her phone from its mount and shoved it in her bag. “Nope. Nope. Your music’s fine.”_

_“You sure?”_

_“Yup!” She looked at his phone and grabbed it. Scrolling through it, she found another Cyndi Lauper song. “We should sing this one!”_

_He glanced at the phone, seeing the familiar cover art of ‘_ She’s So Unusual _’. “Which song is it?”_

_“Time After Time!”_

_Branch shrugged. “I don’t see why not.”_

_And so they sang together for the rest of the trip._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Poppy had fallen asleep again by the time they arrived. When Branch woke her up, he explained the entire plan. First, they would park near apartments because he wasn’t paying for parking._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_“You have to pay to park at the strip?”_

_“Yes, now listen.”_

# 🌺🌺🌺

_They would take a 15 minute uber to the Circus Circus Hotel and Casino, where they would go up to the Midway and watch the act of the hour._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_“Oh, my god,” Poppy yelled with others as a woman flew in the air only to be caught by her partner. She nudged Branch with her elbow. “I see why you cried the first time!”_

_“Shut up, Poppy!”_

# 🌺🌺🌺

_And, they would waste an hour or two at the arcade._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_“Circus Downs,” Poppy read the sign above a bunch of fake horses._

_“It’s like tiny ski ball,” Branch explained. “You gotta roll the balls into the holes. The ones farthest from us give the horse a bigger leap. But, I gotta warn you. I’ve been playing this game since I was seven. So don’t be too sad if you lose.”_

_Poppy did exactly that when Branch’s horse won first place. She turned away from him with a pout._

_“Oh, c’mon,” he laughed. “Don’t be like that!” He glanced at all the stuffed animals surrounding the game. “Hey,” he said, softly grabbing her chin and turning her head towards him. She was still pouting. “I’ll let you pick the prize.” Her smile lit up the Midway._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Then, at 8:30, they would hop on the Deuce for twenty minutes towards their next destination._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_“Can we sit on top,” Poppy asked, excited as she looked at the double decker bus._

_How could Branch say no._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Then, finally, they would get off at the Bellagio Fountains._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Poppy looked at the fountain for a few minutes. It was just so soothing to look at, the water swaying every which way. Suddenly a coin was blocking her view. She traced it back to a hand, back to an arm, and back to Branch. He was smiling at her. “Make a wish.”_

_She took the coin with her own smile. Poppy didn’t know what to wish for. The obvious choice was for a donor to come soon. But that wasn’t what she wanted. Well, yeah, she did want it. Just not as much as… She looked to Branch, whose eyes were still closed, making a wish. She really loved spending time with Branch. When they were alone, he was a whole different person. She liked that person. The person who let his walls down and could smile. Not that she didn’t like his paranoia and sarcasm, but it was nice knowing he knew how to relax. She wanted to spend more time like this with Branch. With that thought, she threw her coin into the fountain, another coin following it a millisecond later._

_“What did you wish for,” he asked her._

_She smiled. “If I tell you it won’t come true.”_

_He smiled as he leaned against the railing. “You know, it’s a good thing we got here early.”_

_Poppy leaned against it too. “Why?”_

_“This place is gonna be flooded soon. This is one of the best views for the fireworks.”_

_“When are they gonna go off?”_

_“At ten.”_

_“That’s over an hour away!”_

_“Yeah, I know. But if we got here any later, we wouldn’t get a good view.” He stared off into the distance. “My grandma and I would always get here early. She made sure I used the restroom before we got here too, so that we wouldn’t lose our spots.”_

_“Is that why you made us use the restrooms before we left the hotel?”_

_“Yes.”_

_Poppy’s stomach growled. “Did your grandma also bring food so that you wouldn’t have to go find a vendor?”_

_“Yes, yes she did.”_

_So, as the hour went by, they munched on SlimJims and dried fruit while they talked about little things. Soon, they noticed the area was getting a bit more crowded. Branch took out his phone. “The show’s gonna start in five minutes.”_

_“Really?!” She looked to the rooftops, as if fireworks would appear in just a second. “Oh, this is going to be so exciting!”_

_He smiled at her before also turning to the rooftops. He could literally feel the excitement radiating off of Poppy’s person. He was really glad he did this for her. If it meant getting that beautiful smile on her face again, he would do it a hundred times! He felt a jab to his heart after realizing that that was probably impossible. His smile dropped. A lot of things with Poppy were probably impossible. The day he met her, a life flashed before his eyes. Their life. How he pictured it to be. And when she grabbed his hand, it was like his heart had willingly given itself to her. From the moment they locked eyes, he saw a future with her. A future he now knew he could never have. Even if Poppy did get a donor in time, how long would she have to live after that? Statistics showed at least five years. There are those who lived over fifteen. But he didn’t want fifteen years. He wanted forever._

_His head snapped forward when the banging sound of a firework went off. That one firework set off a chain reaction. Within moments, the las vegas sky was filled with bursting neon. He looked to Poppy, finding her mesmerized by the show. His smile returned. Who was he kidding? It didn’t matter if he only got 15 years. Or five. Or even just one. He was just happy to be with her for however long he could. He turned away from the most beautiful sight in the universe and started watching the fireworks._

_Poppy couldn’t stop smiling even if she wanted to. If she had gone to the firework show at home, she was sure to have tried to join the singing and dancing with everyone else, despite her heart condition. But here? The atmosphere was so calm. Sure, there were those who were yelling and cheering, but Poppy didn’t feel like joining in on that. She liked just standing here and watching the fireworks with Branch._

_Branch._

_She looked up to him. His eyes were on the fireworks, a small smile on his face. She felt so happy just looking at him. She couldn’t believe he had done this for her. Planning the entire thing to surprise her. Helping her sneak out against her dad’s wishes. Standing up for her when he found out. All of this! Gah! She could just kiss him!_

_Her breath hitched at the thought and her already damaged heart cracked a little. She would look in the mirror everyday and tell herself that everything was going to be ok. That she would get a donor in time. That this gray would soon pass and her life would go back to being all cupcakes and rainbows. But she couldn’t lie to herself that she was scared. Until a donor came into the picture, she was dying. Thinking like that was incredibly selfish. She couldn’t have Branch. She just couldn’t! If she confessed at this very moment, and she did end up dying? She just couldn’t do that to him. She looked back to the fireworks. Being his friend was enough for her. As long as he was by her side._

_Branch had no idea why Poppy started resting her head on his arm, but he gladly welcomed it. When he felt her shiver, even with her own jacket on, he moved to remove his and placed it over her shoulders. Her head found its way back on his arm and, honestly, he could never be happier._

__

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

As Branch drove on to his next destination, he could pinpoint every step he and Poppy had ever taken around town. The walks they had, the talks they had, the moments they had. And he remembered it all because he had engrained every second with her in his mind, never wanting to forget. 

He remembered when the disease truly started changing her. She would always walk in front of him, so full of energy! But, soon, she was walking by his side. And when she started not being able to keep up with him, he started carrying her. He remembered how her hair was always such a vibrant pink! But, soon, her red roots started showing, and she had grown too tired to dye it again. And, when he had first met her, she was chubby and warm and gave the best hugs. But, soon, that chubbiness started to fade, and she was nothing but skin and bones. The disease was taking over her the last few months of her life. It was obvious to see, with how different she looked in the end. But one thing never changed. Her smile. 

Her smile was always full of joy and hope. 

But there were times it wasn’t. And in those times, they went to an old abandoned shack, where she could cry her heart, voice her worries, and just be angry at the world with no judgement from him because he knew better than anyone the need to ask, “Why did this happen to me?!” 

He remembered everything. Every single moment they shared together. Even their last. 

So as he made it to that old, abandoned shack, he let his mind wander back to that precious memory. 

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

_The old, abandoned shack was so old, Branch didn’t know much about it. What he did know, though, was that he and Poppy weren’t the only ones who came here. There was always new cigarette butts to be found and it always smelled faintly of alcohol. Poppy had called him earlier, telling him she had news. What kind of news, she didn’t say, but she said she would tell him once they got to the shack. So, here they were, but she had yet to say anything._

_“I have a donor,” she spoke, finally breaking the silence._

_Branch’s heartbeat quickened. Of all the things she could have said, he did not expect that. “What?”_

_“I have a donor.” She smiled at him, tears filling up her eyes. “The surgery is the day after tomorrow.”_

_Branch couldn’t believe it. She had a donor. So late. “Poppy I don’t think it’s a good idea to have a surgery in your condition. You’re so skinny. And weak! I literally had to carry you in here! If you lose too much blood it’ll be for nothing!” He could feel the tears in his eyes._

_The old shack was silent again. All they could hear was the cold breeze outside. “...It’s a chance, Branch.” Her voice was so small._

_“No.” His voice was even smaller._

_“Yes.”_

_“No. No, no, no!” He let his head shake side to side as his tears fell._

_“Yes! It’s a chance, Branch! C’mon. Say it with me!”_

_“No-”_

_“It’s a chance!” She cupped his cheeks and forced his head to stay still and look at her. She was crying too. “It’s a chance. Say it with me,” she sobbed. “It’s a chance.”_

_How could he ever say no to her. “It’s a chance.”_

_She let out a sobbing laugh. “It’s a chance.”_

_“It’s a chance.” He connected their foreheads._

_“It’s a chance, it’s a chance, it’s a chance,” they cried in sync._

_The shack went silent once more, their sobs the only sound heard for miles._

_Soon they calmed down and Branch couldn’t help but voice his thoughts. “I’m just really scared, Poppy.”_

_She pulled away and glared at him. “You don’t think I’m scared?! Because I am so scared, Branch! Anything could happen in the operating room! Anything! But I have to have hope! It’s the only thing I can control right now!” She started sobbing again and Branch couldn’t help but cry with her._

_“Ok, ok,” he agreed with her. He grabbed her person and pulled her close. “Please calm down. You can’t stress your heart out.” He held her until her heartbeat was steady, and even then he didn’t let go. It was moments like these that made Branch regret so much. He should’ve hugged her when she was still warm and chubby. He should’ve spent time with her when she could still dance and run. When she was still such an amazing person who could smile at her demons, he should’ve- No. wait. She was still like that. Even now, she was still looking those demons in the eyes and yelling at them that she had hope. She was still the same old Poppy. He could still tell her. He could tell her right now. “Poppy, I have something I want to tell you.”_

_“What is it?”_

_“I love-”_

_“No!” She instantly pushed him away. “No! Don’t tell me yet! Tell me after the surgery!”_

_“But, what if-”_

_“No but’s or what if’s! None! I will get my heart surgery on Thursday! I will live in the process! And then you can tell me! Everything! Every little thing you have to say to me, tell me after the surgery! Ok?” She smiled at him with tears in her eyes. Even after all this time, her smile was still the brightest._

_Branch nodded, even though doubt pulsed through his every vein. “Can I ask you one thing?”_

_She looked to be thinking about it. Then she nodded. “Ok.”_

_“W-will you go to prom with me?”_

_Her eyes widened. It was the perfect question. It showed he had hope she would make it and only hinted at what he felt. She smiled brightly. “Yes! Yes! I will go to prom with you! Yes!” She threw her arms around him. Branch couldn’t help but think, even now, when Poppy was so skinny she could blow away with the wind, she still gave the warmest hugs._

_He drove her back home. And when they hit a speed bump, causing a headlight to go out, Poppy told him once again that he needed to get it fixed._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_The next day, Branch had waited in line at school. As he got closer and closer to the front of it, he wondered, could it really be possible? Could she really make it? Miracles happened every day. But so did bad things. Did he really have any hope? Did he really believe that Poppy could actually make it?_

_“Branch, you’re going to prom?!”_

_His head snapped up to the vendor. Well, vendors. Satin and Chenille were both in the prom committee. When had he made it to the front of the line? “Uh…”_

_Chenille looked very confused. “You don’t usually go to big parties like this,” she was just as shocked as her sister. Sure, Branch came to some parties, very, very small ones. Prom was going to be huge, though. Could Branch actually handle something like this?_

_He took the money out and placed it on the table. “I just need two tickets.”_

_“Two?” Satin’s eyes widened. “You have a date?!”_

_“Who is it,” Chenille asked, confused. There was no possible way Poppy would have enough energy to go to prom._

_Branch felt like hyperventilating. Did Poppy not tell them about the donor? About prom? Why was she keeping it a secret? Did she not tell them because she didn’t want to get their hopes up? But then why did she tell him?_

_“Branch, you’re holding up the line!”_

_“Sorry,” he apologized to the guy behind him. He took the tickets from Chenille’s hand. “It’s a secret.” He walked away as fast as he could._

_He did his best to ignore them that day. No doubt the twins had told the entire Snack Pack that he was going to prom with some mystery date. The thought proved to be true when each one of them started texting him individually. Honestly, he didn’t feel like replying. Sure, they had all grown closer these past few months, but he still liked his time away from them. So he ignored the texts._

_His mind wandered back to Poppy. He wanted her to make it. He wanted her to get the surgery and live so he could tell her everything he had to tell her. He wanted to tell her that he loved her. That she was the reason he woke up every morning. That each moment they were apart, he felt like he was missing a piece of himself! He wanted to tell her it all!_

_He held up the prom tickets. Prom was in two weeks. Sixteen days to be exact. It sometimes took weeks to be discharged after a heart transplant, the earliest ever being ten days. Poppy was strong, she would probably be all healed up by the time prom came around. They would probably have a day or two to look for a dress. And he would have to make sure she didn’t exert her heart too much, meaning only slow dances. But, overall, he guessed the night would be fun. They were going to have an amazing night after the transplant._

_Something inside him started blooming as he thought about the future. By this time tomorrow, Poppy’s transplant would be done. By this time tomorrow, he would tell her everything he wanted to tell her! By this time tomorrow, he would be the happiest man alive! Because by this time tomorrow, a future with Poppy was possible! How did he know? Because he had hope! He took a piece of paper from his desk and began writing._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_As he stood on top of the garage roof, he probably should’ve thought more about this. He had spent hours writing that letter, making sure every sentence was perfect, every stanza was flawless, every intention was clear! There was no room for misunderstandings with this letter. He just hoped Poppy was awake to give it to her. He knocked on the window._

_Immediately, the curtain moved to the side, revealing Poppy’s surprised face. She opened the window and moved aside almost routinely. Well, actually, he did do this a lot so it probably was a routine. Once he was inside and safely on her bed, she threw herself into his arms. “I was starting to think you wouldn’t come see me.”_

_He wrapped his arms tighter. “I’m here now.” They stayed in the position for a few moments, enjoying the other’s company. But Branch still had to tell her. “Poppy, I love you.”_

_In one movement, she pushed him away._ _She looked shocked to hear him say it. “Branch! You were supposed to wait-”_

_“Until after the surgery,” he interrupted. “Yeah, I know. But I just couldn’t wait! I had to tell you! Because I love you, Poppy! I really, really love you! And I’m telling you now because I know you’re going to make it!” He smiled at her. “You’re going to make it. I have no doubt about it! None!” He held up a white envelope with pink hearts. They were the same kind she used._

_“Wh-what is that?” She looked at it, curiously, as he handed it to her._

_“It’s a letter for you. It tells you everything I feel about you. Everything I think about you. And I want you to read it after the surgery.”_

_Poppy smiled up at him. He had hope!_

_“I also came here to show you these.” He held up the tickets._

_Poppy almost gasped. “The prom tickets.”_

_He nodded. “The prom tickets.” He stood up, bringing her with him. “I will come to see you everyday in recovery,” he explained. “And, when you’re finally out, we’ll go shopping for a dress. And then we’re going to have the night of our lives because we are going to prom!” Her beautiful smile lit up the room._

_There were tears in her eyes. She couldn’t believe this. “We’re going to prom!” She embraced him and he gladly returned the embrace, lifting her with a spin._

_“We’re going to prom! We’re going to prom!” They yelled in unison._

_Soon, though, Branch had to put her down. Looking down on her, she still had her beautiful smile. He had no doubts. None. She was going to make it! And they were going to live happily ever after._

_Poppy looked up at him, feeling happier than she ever thought she could be. “I love you too, Branch. I really, really love you.”_

_Nothing in his life could ever compare to this moment. Those words coming from her mouth were the most beautiful lyrics he had ever heard. Hesitantly, he cupped her cheek and when she snuggled against it he felt like he could swoon. He started leaning down. Her eyes fluttered closed just as his did._

_“Branch!”_

_Branch jumped away from Poppy so fast one would think he’d teleported. He turned to the doorway he didn’t know had been open to see the mayor in his night robe._

_“Dad!” Poppy looked embarrassed. “W-what are you doing up?”_

_“I heard noises and I came to check on you. I should’ve known.” He turned to Branch with a chuckle. “Branch, I need you to stop sneaking into my house through my daughters window.”_

_Branch nodded, his cheeks flaming. “Yes, sir.”_

_“Please go home.”_

_“Yes, sir.” He started heading to the window._

_“Branch.”_

_He turned to him. “Yes, sir?”_

_“Use the front door.”_

_Poppy started giggling. Oh, gah, now his cheeks felt hotter. “Right, right.” He started heading towards the door. A thought came to him and he turned to Poppy with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”_

_Poppy smiled back and he felt his entire body grow warm. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she confirmed._

_And with that, he went home._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Branch literally ran to his car after school the next day. The faster he got to the hospital, the faster he would get to see Poppy. Her transplant had been early in the morning, so it was obviously over with by now. He had tried texting her at lunch, but she hadn’t replied. She probably hadn’t gotten her phone back yet. Or she was just waiting to see him in person! The thought got him smiling as he walked up to the reception desk. He waved up at the receptionist, getting his attention. “Hi, I’m looking for Poppy King?”_

_“Branch?”_

_Branch turned to the person who had said his name to find the Mayor himself. “Sir!” He left reception to get closer to Peppy. “How is Poppy? Is she doing ok?” That’s when Branch realized Peppy wasn’t smiling. He felt a pit in his stomach. No. No, it couldn’t be. “She...she made it, right?” Branch could feel the tears in his eyes. “Please tell me she made it!”_

_Peppy’s tears fell before his could. “Oh, Branch.”_

_Branch’s heart stopped. “No.” His voice was so small. “No. No! She had to have made it! She had to-” He let out a sob._

_“I’m so sorry, my boy,” Peppy tried to console him._

_“No!” Branch refused to believe it! No! They had just talked last night! They had almost- No! This couldn’t be real. “No! She made it! She had to!” He tried running into the corridors. Even if Peppy hadn’t stopped him, it's not like he knew where to even look. So, when Peppy grabbed his arm and dragged him outside, Branch let him. He ignored the pitying looks from other patients. “I can’t believe this,” he said once they were outside. “I can’t either,” Peppy agreed. “Her body just wasn’t responding to the new heart.”_

_Branch’s throat hurt, wanting to sob and scream. “We were supposed to see each other today.”_

_“I know.”_

_He sniffed. “We were supposed to go to prom.”_

_Peppy hugged him. “I know.” He broke the hug with a sigh. “I have to head to the funeral home, now. You should go home.”_

_“Yeah,” Branch nodded. “I should.”_

_He started heading towards the parking. “Wait, Branch?” He turned to him. “I think this is yours.” He handed him an envelope with pink hearts. The letter. “She said it was from you. She wanted me to hold onto it while she was having her surgery.” Peppy patted his shoulder. “Take care, son.”_

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Branch didn’t remember driving home. But here he was, walking through the front door of his aunt’s house. Delta and Hickory were snuggled on the couch, watching reruns of an old western tv show. Delta looked up to him as he entered. “Branch, I’m orderin’ Pizza today. Got any ideas for toppings?”_

_Branch shook his head and tried to walk past them. But with every step he took, his feet grew heavier and his vision grew blurry with tears. He was sobbing before he could even make it to the hallway. Delta and Hickory were by his side in a second._

_“Branch, what’s wrong,” Hickory asked._

_Branch leaned against the wall and let himself slide down to the floor. He hid his face between his knees. “She...didn’t...make it,” he explained in between sobs._

_“What?!” Delta was very confused._

_“Poppy!.. She got a donor… She didn’t make it!” He cried harder. His throat was already hurting from his loud cries._

_Delta and Hickory shared a look of shock. When Delta knelt down and opened her arms, Branch threw himself in them and cried, trying to let out even a little bit of the pain. But it was no use. Just when he thought he might calm down, he would remember and his tears would start flowing again. It seemed like there was no end to his tears. Hickory joined in on the hug. Their hugs were good. They were warm and he was happy to have them. But their hugs weren’t Poppy’s._

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

He felt something wet land on his hands. When he looked down, he saw drops of water. No. They were tear drops. His hand went to his face. He wasn’t aware he had been crying. He looked around the shack. Why was it even still here? Why had no one demolished it? Why couldn’t it just burn down?! Why?! Why did she have to go?! It wasn’t fair! He punched the wall beside him, trying to calm down. But it was too late. He was already crying. He was already sobbing! Mourning the loss of a love that had slipped from his grasp just as he was ready to hold on forever. It took a few minutes to calm himself down. He took a few deep breaths. “It’s fine. It’s fine,” he told himself. “I’ll be seeing her soon,” he reminded himself. 

With that thought, he left the shack one last time and headed for his van. He still had one last place to go.

A few minutes in, the silence was killing him. He had always liked the sound of silence, but right now it was killing him. Because silence was all he listened to when he had left this town, believing he would never look back. But, he had come back. Many times. Just like today. And today wasn’t a day to sulk. It was a day to rejoice! So he did something he hadn’t done in years. He turned on the radio. He did it every now and then, when he was in a really good mood. And each time, it was on a radio station that played 80’s music. The song that had just ended was one he knew as Wannabe by the Spice Girls. He chuckled. Poppy used to love this song. As the next song started playing, he recognized a familiar piano. He started to laugh. It was Cindi Lauper’s Time After Time. Just his luck! He turned it up as loud as he could. 

He never thought driving to the cemetery would be like this. He had expected to cry like he had all those times. He had expected a numbing feeling that sometimes would come. He even expected the reoccurring thought that told him no stop doing this to himself. But none of that ever came. Instead he felt at peace. He felt happy. He started singing along. 

_If you're lost, you can look and you will find me_

_Time after time_

_If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting_

_Time after time_

_If you're lost, you can look and you will find me_

_Time after time_

_If you fall, I will catch you, I'll be waiting (I will be waiting)_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after time_

_Time after_

_Time_

Before he knew it, he was parking his van. He turned the engine off, which turned off the radio just as the music ended. Looking towards the Cemetery, he couldn’t help but think about the day of her funeral. 

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

_Someone knocked on his door and didn’t wait for a reply to come in. “I got you this outfit for the funeral tomorrow.” It was Delta. He stayed curled up in his blankets as she sat at the edge of his bed. For a few moments there was silence. He wondered what she wanted to say. What she could possibly say to make him feel better. A sob broke the silence, but it wasn’t his. It was Delta’s. “I don’t know what to say… I have no idea what you must be feeling right now…” She let out a shaky breath. “I’m so sorry, boo,” she cried. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know how to take the pain away from you! I wish I did! I wish I could take all your pain so you would never have to feel this way again!”_

_Branch threw the covers off of himself and crawled to his aunt, whose arms were already open. They stayed embraced, sobbing for who knew how long. It wasn’t until Hickory came and joined the embrace did he finally speak. “She told me to wait,” his words were muffled in his aunt’s shoulder._

_“What was that, Boo?” His aunt and her husband broke the hug just a fraction._

_“I told her...I loved her,” he explained._

_Delta’s heart cracked. “Oh, boo,” she let out just as Hickory said, “Oh, Branch.” They crushed him in a hug and he welcomed it. The tears flowed once again._

_“Sh-she told me...to wait...until after...the surgery,” he explained in between sobs. “But I told her anyway!” He could hear Delta sobbing and could feel Hickory’s tears falling on his shoulder. “If I had just waited...maybe she would’ve made it!”_

_“No,” Hickory’s voice came out with so much force, Branch shut his mouth closed. “Branch, you believed she would make it. You wouldn’t have bought those prom tickets otherwise.”_

_Delta nodded. “You did believe she would make it, boo! You did!”_

_“It’s not your fault.” Hickory brought his family into a crushing hug. “It’s not.”_

_“It’s not,” Delta agreed._

_And Branch cried harder._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_After an hour of hugs and reassurances, Branch wanted to be left alone. He stayed on his bed, wrapped in his blankets until the clock on his nightstand read 3 a.m.._

_He just couldn’t sleep. The service would be in five hours. The funeral in seven. The service was opened to everyone, like kids at school who admired her or grownups and teachers who adored their happy, little personified sunshine. The funeral was for close friends and family, which he was invited to. He sat up, looking over at the outfit Delta had gotten him. It was a navy blue button up shirt with black slacks. He slid out of bed and grabbed it._

_Looking in the mirror, he couldn’t help but feel stupid. Why did he need this stupid new outfit for a funeral? For her funeral? This wasn’t supposed to be the outfit that was bought. It was supposed to be a suit. A matching suit. A matching suit to whatever dress she was going to wear. Because they were supposed to go to prom._

_They were supposed to go to prom._

_This was all wrong. Something in the universe went wrong! This was not how things were supposed to be! She was supposed to be here! She was supposed to be alive! This couldn’t be real!_

_He grabbed his jacket and his keys and headed for his van. The headlights turned one once he started the engine. Well, just one headlight. He still had yet to get it fixed. It only took five minutes to get to the cemetery. Anyone who died in this town was buried here. He climbed the gate and aimlessly walked until he came across the only hole. A new hole. A new grave. This was going to be Poppy’s grave. Because she…_

_She didn’t make it._

_His head felt light. The thought had crossed his mind so many times in the past two days. But looking at this grave...made it so much more real. He fell to his knees. She was gone. She was really gone. And she was never coming back. It was like, no matter how many times he had cried already, there were always more tears to shed. Because Poppy was gone...and so was the future he had planned._

_He got up and tried to get away from the hole. He didn’t make it far. He found himself leaning against a giant Gravestone. Probably someone important, but he didn’t care. He fell to his knees once more and sat against the stone._

_He stared at the sky for so long, the navy blue started to fade, leaving a lighter shade in its wake. Soon, gold outlined the mountains in the distance. The sun was finally coming up. He only checked the time when a notification went off on his phone. It was almost eight in the morning. Delta had texted him, asking him where he was. He ignored it and continued to stare at the sky. Everyone could go to the service if they wanted to. Talk amongst themselves about how amazing she was. Was! They could all waste their time talking about her, remembering her, crying about her, but it wouldn’t bring her back. So why should he go? Why should he go and have all those people stare at him, wondering why he was there if he never actually cared? None of them ever truly knowing that he was the one whose tears would forever flow now that she wasn’t here to wipe them away?_

_That day he had met her. God, he should’ve ignored her. He should’ve told her he didn’t have a car. He should have never tried to return that Hug Time bracelet. He should have never had lunch with her that day! He never should have spoken to her! It was selfish to think such a thing. It really was. But he had gone through this pain before. Except this was different. He had loved his grandma, but this was a different kind of love. The kind of love that made you think of a future with someone. The kind of love that made you want to hold their hand. The kind of love that made you want to be by their side forever. But forever was snatched away from him before he could even ask for it. And now she was gone and she had never gotten to read the letter. The letter that told her everything. The letter that had the poem he had written for her. The letter...the letter…_

_The letter was in his jacket pocket right now. He took it out. He must’ve left it in there when Peppy had given it back to him. He sighed before wiping his tears again. He should’ve burned it. He should’ve torn it to pieces like he did the prom tickets. But it was here, intact and in his hands. He didn’t want this letter. It wasn’t meant for him to keep. It was meant for Poppy._

_For Poppy._

# 🌺🌺🌺

_Over the next two hours, he got multiple texts. Even some phone calls that were surprisingly from Creek. But he ignored them. He knew all they wanted was to know where he was. And he didn’t want to be anywhere else but here._

_Soon he heard cars parking in a distance. Then feet walking on dirt. And, finally, murmurs from a crowd. Peppy’s voice silenced everyone._

_“My daughter,” he sobbed. “Was a good person. A good person who had so much she wanted to do in life. She wanted to dance. She wanted to sing. She wanted to save the world with hugs and smiles. She was naive about the world. She believed things could change. She was so smart and confident. I have no doubt she would have made well on her words had her life not been snatched so soon. I’m going to miss her. I’m going to miss her so much. There will never be a day that goes by where I won’t look back and remember our precious times together.” He let out a few sobs before continuing. “Her first word. Her first word was ‘Daddy’. I felt so happy to hear that word. Nothing is more precious than hearing your child’s voice for the first time. And it breaks my heart knowing her last words to me. ‘I’ll see you after the surgery, Daddy’.” Peppy was wailing now. “My precious daughter! My sweet child! Why?! Why did you have to go?!” Branch dared to peek behind the stone. Peppy was on his knees, his hands against the casket, crying and sobbing as loud as he could. “Please come back! Please! Let me hear your voice again! You had such a beautiful voice! Poppy, please! Please!” Biggie’s dads had to comfort him and lead him back to his chair, where he continued to sob._

_For the next half hour, Poppy’s family and friends took turns saying something about her. How she was always kind, how she always smiled, and how she was someone to admire._

_He watched as the Snack Pack finally made their way to the front. They all looked horrible, all wearing colors darker than they ever cared for. Creek was the only one who actually wore black and it looked so wrong on him. Suki set up a computer and a speaker on a chair next to the casket. Creek spoke._

_“Poppy was our best friend… We loved her so much.”_

_“She always knew how to cheer someone up,” Suki explained. “She always knew what song to put one when I was feeling down.”_

_“She always had a good joke to make me laugh,” Cooper smiled, bitterly. “Her silliness almost rivaled mine.” That got a few laughs from the mourners._

_“She always made me feel so confident in myself. She told me everyday, I was a real woman. And that she loved my muscles!” Smidge cried. She turned to Fuzzbert and read his signs. “When I met Poppy, she didn’t know sign language. But she learned for me. I was so happy the day we actually had a real conversation.”_

_“She always dressed fabulous! A gorgeous appearance to match her gorgeous personality-” Guy Diamond finished the sentence with a sob._

_It seemed like Biggie was afraid to speak until Guy held his hand. He gave him a smile before turning back to the mourners. “She was always there to hold my hand in anxious situations. Especially when I couldn’t bring Dinkles. I don’t know what I’m going to do without her.” Guy embraced him as he started crying._

_Satin and Chenille were already sobbing. “Before we dyed our hair,” Satin started._

_“Or started wearing contacts,” Chenille continued._

_“Or started dressing differently-”_

_“Or started liking different things-”_

_“Poppy was the only one who could tell us apart,” they finished in unison. “We loved that about her.”_

_Chenille started sobbing into Suki’s chest while Satin just hugged herself._

_Creek drew attention to himself again. “It’s no secret to anyone how I felt about Poppy. And, though I knew I could never have her, her friendship was more than enough. I don’t know where I would be without her kindness.”_

_Suki held onto Chenille’s hand as they all stood proud. “In honor of Poppy, we want to sing her a song. To send her off.”_

_“And to show her that she’s always in our hearts.” Creek gave the nod to Suki, who clicked something on the computer._

_They started to sing No One But You by Queen._

A hand above the water

An angel reaching for the sky

Is it raining in heaven

Do you want us to cry?

And everywhere the broken-hearted

On every lonely avenue

No one could reach them

No one but you

One by one

Only the good die young

They're only flyin' too close to the sun

And life goes on

Without you

_Like a true choir, their voices never wavered. Even though their tears streamed down their faces, and their throats that must be hurting, their voices stayed strong and beautiful._

And now the party must be over

I guess we'll never understand

The sense of your leaving

Was it the way it was planned?

_Branch turned away from the funeral and leaned back against the stone. Tears started falling. He didn’t have the strength to wipe them._

And so we grace another table

And raise our glasses one more time

There's a face at the window

And I ain't never, never sayin' goodbye

_Branch couldn’t help but sing along quietly._

One by one

Only the good die young

They're only flyin' too close to the sun

Cryin' for nothing

Cryin' for no one

_He let out a sob as the Snack Pack sang the last verse in perfect harmony._

No one but you

_The song was over. And as he heard some old man, probably a pastor, say there would be a gathering at the church, he knew the funeral was over too. He listened as feet shuffled and voices grea faint. It was only when it was silent did he finally leave his spot. When he looked over to the grave, his eyes widened. Peppy was still sitting in his seat, staring at the casket that had yet to be buried. Slowly, he made it to him and took a seat next to him. Peppy didn’t so much as glance at him._

_“I knew you would come,” he said. “Eventually.”_

_Branch took a deep breath, also staring at the casket. “I’ve been here since four in the morning.” Peppy finally turned to him, confused. “I couldn’t sleep.” He nodded before looking back at the casket._

_“You didn’t come to the service.”_

_Branch shrugged. “I didn’t belong there… Others had known her longer.”_

_Peppy didn’t reply to that. “Do you want to say something now?”_

_“...There isn’t much to say. I…” He got up and stood by the casket, looking to Peppy, who watched him with curious eyes. “She was brave. Poppy was always so brave. She always had hope she would make it. People who get Bergen Disease usually lose all hope, but Poppy always seemed to have a little extra in her pocket when she needed it most. I loved that about her. She never talked about how we would live without her. She only ever talked about what she would do after she survived. Her hope is what kept all of us smiling. Now I’m not sure if I’ll ever smile again.” He sighed as he brought the letter out of his pocket. “Everything I ever wanted to tell her was in this. And now she’ll never know.” Peppy stood up, walked over to him, and embraced him. But Peppy wasn’t who Branch wanted to hug at the moment. The two broke the hug and looked over at two men who scraped their shovels against the ground. Branch glared at them. “What’s their problem?”_

_“They need to bury her soon. I guess I’ve made them wait long enough. I was waiting for you.”_

_Branch nodded. “I’m here now. It would be best to...get it over with.” God, that sounded insensitive. But it was true._

_“Yes, it would be best.” Peppy thought about it. “Do you wanna see her? I can ask them to open it.”_

_Branch shook his head. His last memory of her was her beautiful smile, promising to see him tomorrow. He wanted to keep it that way. He looked at the letter before placing it on top of the casket. He didn’t need it anymore. It was for Poppy anyway. He turned to Peppy. “I guess I should get going.”_

_“There’s a gathering at the church,” Peppy explained. “Your aunt and uncle are there.”_

_Branch nodded. “I know.” It’s not like he was going to go, though. “Bye, Sir.” He started leaving._

_“Take care, Branch.”_

_“...I will.”_

# 🌺🌺🌺

_But as he drove home, he wasn’t sure he could. Looking at everything reminded him too much of Poppy. All the places they’d been to, everything they had done together, the arguments, the playful banter, the hugs, the laughs… Staying here, where he was reminded of her everywhere he turned, would surely kill him. He couldn’t stay. So when he made it home, he rushed to his room and packed whatever he needed. Clothes, his wallet, his identification, everything he would need to make it out there. Make it anywhere. He just couldn’t stay here._

_He threw everything in the back of the van, started the engine once more, and drove. He did his best to keep his eyes on the road, not wanting to be reminded of anything at the moment. But, as he drove past the farewell sign that read, ‘COME AGAIN!’, he was reminded of the night they had met._

_Yup. There was no possible way he could stay here. So he kept on driving, never looking back._

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

Except he had looked back. And he came back. Every year. Grabbing the bouquet of poppies and the drink from his passenger seat, he finally left the car and started heading for the cemetery. As he got closer to the cemetery, he noticed a group of people near Poppy’s grave. No, wait, they were at Poppy’s grave. It couldn’t be! He hid behind the same stone he did all those years ago before they could notice him.

“-which would have obviously looked great on her!” 

“Shut up, Chenille,” Satin rolled her eyes. “She looked great in everything!”

“It’s true,” Guy agreed. “She even pulled off crocs! I couldn’t even pull off crocs!” 

Biggie giggled beside him, squeezing his hand. He gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I think you look good in crocs.”

Smidge guffawed after reading Fuzzbert’s signs. ‘He’s your husband, you’re supposed to think he looks good in crocs.’

“Anyway!” Chenille got the Snack Pack’s attention. She leaned back into Suki. “As I was saying! The design is meant to honor her. Each layer is meant to represent a poppy petal.”

“You know, speaking of poppies,” Cooper started. “There isn’t a bouquet this year.”

Suki nodded. “I noticed that! I was really confused. There’s always been a bouquet every year we come here.”

“Who do you think leaves them,” Smidge asked. 

“I think it’s Branch,” Biggie answered. Everyone tensed up, looking to Creek. 

“You honestly think Branch would leave her flowers when he didn’t even come to the funeral,” Creek seethed. 

“I do think so,” Guy agreed, backing up his husband. “I always believed Branch liked her. Maybe even loved her.”

“Loved her?! He was always an asshole to her!”

“Not when they were alone,” Cooper reminded them. 

“Oh, gah! That live stream,” Smidge nodded. 

Satin turned to her sister. “The prom tickets.” 

Chenille wanted to cry. “He was going to take her, wasn’t he?” 

“I guess we’ll never know,” Suki hugged her tighter. 

“We could. The Class Groupchat says ‘An Unbloomed Poppy’ is dedicated to us,” Chenille explained. 

“I refuse to read any of his books,” Creek seethed. “I don’t care if it is dedicated to me. I’m not giving him a cent!”

“I’ve read all of his works,” Chenille admitted. “The Princess Knight series is really good. He dedicated the whole thing to Poppy.” 

“I only read the first book,” Guy explained. “I heard Arlese dies in the second one.”

“She doesn’t die, she turns into Autumn,” Suki explained. 

“Spoilers,” Smidge and Cooper yelled.

“I love his romance novels,” Biggie gushed. “They’re always so sweet and beautiful.” 

“Are you all seriously praising that asshole,” Creek interrupted.

“You would be too if you read his stories,” Satin retorted. 

“He didn’t even try to keep contact with us,” Creek argued. “All these years! Not a single text, not one call!”

“Well maybe if you hadn’t punched him at Satin and Chenille’s wedding,” Smidge started. 

“And mad-dogged him the entire time,” Cooper added.

Smidge nodded at Fuzzbert’s signs. “And made him feel like complete shit,” she translated. “He probably would’ve!”

“I believe I was completely justified,” Creek crossed his arms. “He didn’t even come to the funeral.”

“Maybe he had his reason,” Biggie timidly spoke up. 

“Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to read ‘An Unbloomed Poppy’,” Satin gave a nod to her sister. “I want to see what he thought about me.”

“Well, I already know he hated me just as much as I hated him,” Creek glared at nothing in particular. 

“Must our conversation always lead to you hating Branch,” Guy asked, an unimpressed expression dawning on his face.

“Yes.”

“Why do you hate him so much,” Smidge asked.

“Oh, I don’t know! Maybe because he was a complete asshole for no reason!”

“He was an orphan whose only family member that he knew of died of Bergen Disease, had to settle in on a new home with an aunt he never knew existed, and whose Best Friend died from the same disease that took his grandma,” Chenille explained with a deadpan expression. 

Creek huffed. “I guess there is that.” 

“Do we have to argue in front of Poppy,” Suki asked. 

Biggie let out a laugh. Everyone turned to him. “I was just remembering her face when we would argue.”

Cooper laughed along. “That was such an adorable face!”

“It’s getting late,” Smidge pointed out. The sun was already starting to set. 

“I have to get up early for my plane back to L.A,” Satin agreed.

“We offered to tag along on our road trip,” Suki explained. 

“And listen to you and my sister make out in the back seat? I’ll pass.” She let out a laugh when Chenille punched her arm. 

“I do have a show coming up,” Guy admitted, reluctantly. “I just don’t want to leave yet.”

“Remembering her really hurts,” Cooper nodded. 

“It does,” Creek agreed. He sighed. “You all wanna have a meal before we go our separate ways again?”

“We could visit the old diner,” Smidge voiced Fuzzbert’s suggestion. 

Everyone agreed to that. With one last goodbye to Poppy’s grave, they all started heading to their cars. In the parking lot, each one individually noticed a van parked way in the back, almost as if hiding from view. It looked really familiar. Nonetheless, they all got into their cars.

Branch waited for the engines to completely fade before coming out from behind the stone. So none of them had read ‘An Unbloomed Poppy’? Well, that wasn’t his fault. He had said his goodbyes. It didn’t matter if they had heard it or not. He was still going through with this. 

He sat down on the dirt the moment he got to the gravestone. After popping the bottle open, he took a long swig and only put it down when he needed some air. 

“Hi, Poppy,” he started. “So, I’m here again and- oh! These are for you!” He put the bouquet on her grave. “Yeah, I know, I know! Poppies every year! But, hey, I was always poetic.” He let out a small laugh at his own joke. “Anyway! I came here to tell you that I published our story a few months ago. It’s extremely popular. I got a lot of money out of that. But, I didn’t need it. Everythings going to charities after today. I even gave a check to that old diner you loved so much! You never told me Ginger’s family owned that! Talk about a small town.” He sighed as he looked over at the horizon. The sun was already behind the mountains, causing the sky to glow purples and oranges. He turned back to the stone, taking a swig of his drink. “You know, I sold my house. And all of my belongings. Even my car. I used my old van to get here. I’m surprised it even started! And I know what you're thinking,” he laughed. “No, I never fixed that headlight. And, I won’t need to anymore. Because, tonight, I’m going to be with you.” He took another drink. “I know what I’m doing. I’ve gone to therapy. I’ve taken pills. None of it helps. Because none of it can erase you. None of it can take away my memories of you. You were everything to me. And I told you too late.” Another drink. “It’s been 22 years. I tried to numb you! I tried to forget you! But I can’t. You were just so amazing. I have never met anyone like you. Believe me, I tried. I really did try. But no one ever made me laugh with just a silly look. No one ever made me smile just by saying my name. No one ever made my heart race just by looking at me! No one ever made me happy just by being themselves. Not like you! Whose smile always took my breath away. Whose eyes were always able to see right through me. Whose voice always made my heart race. I could never find someone like you. No one ever compared to you.” Tears started streaming down his cheeks. “And I hate myself so much! Because you loved me too! And we could’ve been together if I hadn’t been such an idiot! I’m so sorry! All the memories we could have made! The time we could have spent together if I had just confessed sooner! But I didn’t! I confessed too late.” He sobbed into his hands. “I was going to change after the surgery. I was finally going to allow myself to be happy! With you! I was going to stop trying to push you away! I was going to tell you exactly how I felt! I was going to read you the poem I wrote for you! I was going to spend every single second catching up on everything I missed with you just because I was a fucking idiot!” He let his hands fall to the dirt as well as his head. “I finally had hope! I had hope that there would be time to do all of that! But there wasn’t!” He sobbed harder. “There was supposed to be time! There was supposed to be time!” It took a few moments for him to calm down a bit. He sat up. “Nowadays, I find myself unable to be happy. Unable to smile! Unable to get out of bed! Because I’ve done everything I wanted to do, accomplished everything I wanted to achieve… All because I knew it’s what you would’ve wanted… But now? Now I just want to be with you. But…” He sniffed. “...there’s no possible way to do that here. Every day I wake up, I know you’re gone. I’m sick of it. I’m sick of waking up every morning, knowing you’re not there.” He took the pill bottle out of his pocket and opened it. “So, this time, when I go to sleep, I’m not waking up.” He poured hand full after hand full and shoved them in his mouth, taking swig after swig of his drink until both were gone. He didn’t speak anymore. He just sat there in silence, waiting for the pills and alcohol to kick in.

Time passed, he wasn’t sure how much, though. His breath had grown shallow and his pulse had weakened. When had he lied down again? He stared up at the sky until the purple and orange sky turned to dark blues. Finally, his eyes closed.

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

“Right!” Chenille huffed. “The nerve of her! We always take a vacation day this time of year.” She stared back at her phone. 

Satin nodded, putting her drink down. “You’d think she’d know that by now.”

“Why don’t you two just make your own business,” Creek asked. 

“We have thought about it,” Chenille explained, still into her phone. 

“We’re probably going to go through with it.” 

“I’m helping them out,” Suki explained. “It’s sort of the same process as making my DJ business.”

Biggie laughed. “When I started my photography business, it was just posters on light poles and a few stages in my garage. People already know you two! How hard is it gonna be?”

“True,” Satin laughed, turning to her sister to see if she agreed. Only, Chenille’s eyes were still glued to her phone. “What is so interesting on your phone?!” 

“I caved.”

“You what?”

“I caved,” she repeated. “I bought ‘An Unbloomed Poppy’ on PlayBooks. It was only 15 dollars.” She sighed. “I’ve only finished the first page and I already want to cry.”

“What’s so sad about it,” Cooper asked. 

“It’s just...god, he really loved her,” her voice trembled. 

“The Snack Pack?!” The group looked up to see a familiar face. 

“Ginger,” they all exclaimed in unison. 

“Did you all come to see Poppy?”

“Yeah,” Smidge answered. “Told her everything! Life as a house wife isn’t so bad.”

“Milton is so lucky to have you,” Ginger commented with a smile. She looked around the group and frowned. “Branch isn’t with you guys?”

Creek huffed. “Why would Branch be with us?”

Ginger sighed, fearing the worst. “He came here a few hours ago. Talking about not needing things anymore and going places. It really threw me off. And, after reading ‘An Unbloomed Poppy’, I don’t think he’s ok.”

“You’ve read ‘An Unbloomed Poppy’,” Cooper asked. 

Ginger raised a brow. “You guys haven’t?”

“I barely started,” Chenille admitted. “I haven’t even finished the second page.”

“Go to Acknowledgements,” she ordered. 

Chenille did. And when she read it, she felt like sobbing. “You guys need to read this.” Her phone was passed around and after a few minutes, everyone felt like sobbing. 

Suki wiped away her tears. “Did- did he say where he was going?” 

Ginger shrugged. “He probably went to her grave. He leaves her a bouquet of poppies every year.”

“We didn’t see him…” Biggie’s eyes widened just as his husband’s did. 

“The van!”

“Oh, god,” Creek let out. He hastily started pushing everyone out of the booth. “Let’s go! What are we waiting for?!”

# 🚐 _ _ _ _ _

“Branch!”

Someone called his name. When he opened his eyes, he was still in the same position. The stars were still in the sky. The pills and alcohol hadn’t worked. 

“Branch!” 

Someone called his name again. Groggily he sat up, rubbing his eyes. 

“Finally! I thought you were just gonna lay there forever!” His eyes widened. He knew that voice. After 22 years, he had never forgotten it. Slowly, he looked up to see Poppy smiling at him. Not the Poppy that was taken by Bergen Disease, not the Poppy that had withered away after all those months, but the Poppy he had met that night at the school dance. Her hair was a vibrant pink and her irises seemed to be so too, only they didn’t seem like contacts. She wore a white, flowing dress and a crown made of poppies and she seemed to be glowing. She held her hand out to him. 

When he took it, he noticed his hands looked a lot younger. This was...weird. Finally standing, he looked around and gasped at the body on the floor. Was that...him? 

“You’re not exactly...gone yet,” Poppy explained. “But you’re very close.” 

He turned to her, still processing what was going on. All that was flowing through his mind at the moment was ‘Poppy, Poppy, Poppy!’ He could feel a smile growing on his face. “Poppy.”

She smiled at him. “Hi, Branch.” 

He embraced her with the force of a thousand words unsaid. “Poppy,” he sobbed. 

She hugged him back. “I have waited so long to see you,” she admitted. “I just never thought it would be like this.” She broke the hug, but only partly. “Why’d you do it?”

Looking at her face, Branch only had one answer. “I wanted to be with you.”

“I knew you’d say that,” she laughed. “But, what about Delta and Hickory?”

“They retired. Like, three years ago. Sold the house and everything. Hickory took her to Switzerland.”

“That’s so cute. I cannot believe you used to hate him.”

Branch laughed. “I know, right?! He actually turned out to be pretty cool.”

Poppy smirked. “So… Our story, huh?”

Branch looked away with a blush. “I-I guess, after all these years I just... I really missed you. And I wanted to show the world that I did.” 

Poppy cupped his cheek. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Branch. I know why you did it. I’m happy you did. The Snack Pack’s gonna get a lot of closure with it. And you did too.” She looked around the graveyard. “You know, a lot of people came here these last few months. Even people who I thought had forgotten me. All because you made people remember me. Thank you for that.”

“Well, I didn’t do it for them.”

“I know. You did it for me.” She hugged him again.

“I…” Gah, there was just so much to say to her. “I want you to know that you succeeded.”

Poppy chuckled. “Succeeded in what?”

“...Making me happy. You know, you kept me alive all these years. There were times where I just wanted to end it all, but I knew if I did, you would be disappointed.”

“What changed that?”

“Well, I told you my dreams. I told you everything I wanted to do in life. And I did it. I knew it’s what you would’ve wanted. But, there’s nothing left for me to do. I just want to be with you now.”

Poppy hugged him tighter at the confession. “I have to tell you something.”

He nuzzled his cheek in her hair. “What is it?” 

“...I read the letter before the surgery.”

He was not expecting that. He broke the hug, confused. “What?”

Poppy started giggling. “I read the letter. I read it all before the surgery.”

That couldn’t be true. “But, the envelope wasn’t-”

“I gave you those envelopes, remember?” Her smile was wide and full of mirth. 

Branch started laughing too. “I can’t believe it! You read it!” Suddenly, he grew shy. “Wh-what did you think?”

“I think- No! I know I feel the same way.”

Branch felt the weight of 22 years fall off his shoulders. “I love you, Poppy.”

Her smile glowed. “I love you too, Branch.” Poppy had waited 22 years for this. She wasn’t going to wait a moment longer. She grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down, bringing him into a kiss. He kissed back not even a moment later. 

The kiss was broken when Poppy started giggling. “What’s so funny,” he asked, annoyed. Why did she stop?!

“Nothing, nothing. I’m just… I’m just really happy.” She stared up at him, her smile brighter than any star in the sky. “Can you recite the poem to me?”

“I thought you already read it?”

“I did. I just wanna hear how you would say it.”

He smiled. Even after all this time, he still remembered it. “You’re eyes. They’re like two pools, so deep I fear, if I dive in, I might never come up for air. And your smile! The sun itself turns, jealous, and refuses to come out from behind the clouds knowing it could not shine half as bright.” 

Poppy squealed. “Oh, it’s so much prettier the way you say it!”

Branch let out a laugh before something caught his eyes. It was a light, growing bigger by the second. “What is that?”

Poppy turned to it. “You’re seeing it now?”

“What is it?”

“It’s the light. It shows itself once you’ve finally gone.” She turned to him with a smile. “Are you ready?” 

Branch looked at his body. He had no one else to say goodbye to. No loose ends to tie. He didn’t hear cars in a distance screeching to a halt. He didn’t hear the stomping footsteps of people approaching. His only focus was on the girl in front of him. He smiled at her. “I’m ready.”

She took his hand, her smile lighting up the night sky, and they ran to the light, laughing and finally at peace.

# 🌺🌺🌺

An Unbloomed Poppy 127

# Acknowledgements

It took me four weeks to write this book. Four weeks of crying and drinking and bringing up memeories I had tried to burry for over twenty years. But the thing about memories is that no matter how much you try to burry them, they will always be there, ready to be dug up again. And I guess now it was time to take them out from that cold dark place and put it into this book. This isn’t just a story with a sad ending. It’s my life. Everyone in this book was in my life and I tried to burry all of them along with Poppy that day. But I couldn’t. Every now and then, I would think about them, think about reaching out to them, but I couldn’t. They had all moved on. They were all ready to be happy, just like Poppy would’ve wanted. But not me. I stayed in my dark corner. I didn’t want to drag them here with me. But I just want to them to know that I am grateful that they were in my life.

First, I want to thank my fans. I never would’ve have been able to live the life Poppy wanted for me if it wasn’t for all of your support. Thank you. 

I want to thank Delta and Hickory. I was a horrible teenager who acted out and tried to defy you. I was so angry at the world, but you loved me anyway. You loved me when I thought I was unlovable. Thank you.

I want to thank the Snack pack. When Poppy was homeschooled, I thought I had lost my only friend. I thought my last year would be filled with quiet, lonely days. But that first day of Senior year, when you all invited me to sit with you at lunch, I felt hope grow in my heart. You gave me the chance of friendship that I didn’t deserve, least of all from you. Thank you.

Creek. Oh, Creek. I don’t know what to say here. We both felt the same about Poppy. Which is what made you such a great friend to her. You told me off when everyone else was too scared to. You weren’t afraid to call me out on my toxic behavior, and because of that, my relationship with Poppy grew. You always made sure Poppy was happy. We had our differences, but they were good. Sometimes I think we truly could’ve been friends. Thank you.

And, finally, I want to thank you, Poppy, whose cupcakes and rainbows kept me alive all these years. I love you. 

Thank you to all and goodbye.

Branch Heart


End file.
